Bush met Monday with a bipartisan group seeking consensus on a new approach for the war in Iraq amid widespread agreement that the administration’s current efforts have not worked well enough or fast enough. White House press secretary Tony Snow described the meeting as a conversation in which both sides shared views. “This is not a deposition,” Snow said. Further, he said there was not a presentation of alternatives but rather an assessment of the situation on the ground now. The president talked in the Oval Office with members of the Iraq Study Group, headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton. The group is to release its findings before the end of the year. The study group was spending the day at the White House speaking with members of Bush’s national security team, including ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com

Lebanon's political disarray deepened today as the last minister allied to the pro-Syrian Hizbullah movement resigned from the cabinet.The exit of Yacoub Sarraf, the environment minister, followed the resignation of five Shia ministers at the weekend over their demands for effective veto power in the government."As I can't find myself part of any constitutional authority that lacks representation from a whole religious sect ... I herewith tender my resignation from the government," Mr Sarraf, a Christian, said in his letter to the prime minister, Fouad Siniora. The Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, last month said he wanted a greater influence in the government in order to stop the anti-Syrian majority giving in to a renewed "American-Israeli demand" to disarm his movement following this summer's war with Israel....http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,,1946786,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Exit polls from local elections in Poland have suggested the ruling conservative government has suffered a number of setbacks. The exit polls showed the year-old coalition, headed by the Law and Justice party, behind in the fight for Warsaw council and other city bodies. Members of the opposition centre-right Civic Platform were claiming victory. The key battle for the post of Warsaw mayor looks likely to go to a second round later this month. Overall turnout was forecast to be low. Three hours before polls closed, fewer than 35% of the 30m voters had cast ballots, the national election commission said. Poland's Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski had been hoping for good results for his Law and Justice party to help rebuild a stable parliamentary majority after his governing coalition collapsed in September. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6141776.stm

South Korea will not join a U.S.-led plan to intercept North Korean ships suspected of carrying arms cargo as a part of sanctions on Pyongyang for conducting a nuclear test, reports said on Monday.South Korea has reviewed whether to expand its participation in the plan after the North's October 9 nuclear test, but it has been wary that such an operation near the Korean peninsula could escalate military tension with the North. "The government will express support for the goal and principles of the (plan) but will not formally join for the time being considering the special situation on the Korean peninsula," the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted an official as saying. The decision was reached at a meeting of government officials and ruling Uri Party leaders at the weekend, the JoongAng Ilbo said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2648420

A new kind of scan might be able to find blocked arteries quicker and with less trouble than existing tests, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.Tests in dogs show that the computed tomography or CT scan could track blood flow slowed by the narrowing of arteries, researchers told the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago. They said the non-invasive test took less than half the time of exercise stress tests and echocardiograms now used to find early signs of dangerously clogged blood vessels. Dr. Albert Lardo and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine in Baltimore are now testing the method in human volunteers. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2648421

A US-based rights group has accused Vietnam of maltreating homeless children to improve the appearance of the capital, Hanoi, for visitors. Human Rights Watch says it is particularly concerned that street children are vulnerable to arrest this week as the city hosts a key summit. Their number has visibly reduced in the run-up to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. Twenty heads of regional governments are scheduled to attend. 'Protection centre' Walking around Hoan Kiem lake in the centre of Hanoi usually involves being encouraged to buy postcards, books or souvenirs by a few young people - but not at the moment. The number of such street workers has dropped in the past few weeks and one security official on duty near the lake told the BBC his instructions were to detain any street children he encountered. The official said: "The problem with the street children shining shoes and selling books is that they normally follow foreigners and tourists. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6142134.stm